Frack•ing (n.): Pumped up and under pressure

Alberta is known across -Canada—and the world—for many things: wild roses, the Rockies, Alberta beef, rodeos—we’re even the birthplace of Michael J. Fox. We do have one export, however, that’s even more famous than Marty McFly, and that’s oil and gas. With these rich natural resources confined under layers of soil and rock, have you ever wondered how we pull them from the ground? Well, wonder no more. Here we define fracking—the process, history and controversy of this extraction technique.

What Is Fracking?

Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, is a production process used commonly in North America to extract oil and natural gas that’s trapped deep underground. Fracking uses fluid and materials to stimulate production from oil and gas wells.

The Process

Fracking happens after an oil or gas well has been drilled, cased and cemented (a process by which steel casing is inserted into the well and is surrounded by hardened concrete to prevent fracking fluid, oil or gas from entering the water supply). A high volume of fracturing fluid (98% to 99.5% water and sand, and 2% to 0.5% chemical additives) is then pumped into the oil or gas well at high pressure to crack (or “fracture”) layers of low-permeability rock and create pathways to pump the oil or natural gas to the surface.

The History

Although fracking has been traced back to the United States in 1865 when Col. Edward A. L. Roberts received his patent for an “exploding torpedo,” it wasn’t used commercially until 1949 when it was implemented in Texas. The technology caught on, and Canada’s first frack took place near Drayton Valley in the 1950s during the development of the Pembina Cardium field.

Over the last 60 years, improvements have been made to the efficiency and safety of the process. Since the early 2000s, fracking has grown to play a key role in oil and gas production across Canada and the United States and is often combined with horizontal drilling (a technique used on existing wells to reach pockets of oil or natural gas missed by traditional vertical drilling) to access large sections of oil and gas reservoirs at once.

To date, over 175,000 wells have been stimulated by fracking in Alberta and British Columbia alone.

The Controversy

Fracking is a complex subject. Even though the process has been used in Alberta’s oil and gas industry for decades, there is much uncertainty about its impact on both the environment and human health.

A recent earthquake in Alberta’s Duvernay oil and gas field near Fox Creek, which measured between 4.2 and 4.8 on the Richter scale, has brought more attention to the connection between fracking and earthquakes. Scientists agree that fracking causes increased seismic activity, but studies are still being done to fully understand the link between the two.

Fracking has also been under fire as a potential danger to human health. Some environmentalists and scientists have brought forward concerns about chemicals used in fracturing fluid contaminating the groundwater near drilling sites. Many studies have been done on the subject, but the findings are conflicted with some stating a low-to-moderate risk and others a high risk.

Alberta has rules for fracking in place to protect from potential risks to health and the environment. Provincial regulations require testing on waste water and specify how far away wells must be from residential areas. Alberta also has legislation that requires oil and gas companies to publicly disclose what chemicals they use in fracking. t8n

Did You Know?

Alberta is often called Canada’s energy province. According to Alberta Energy, Alberta’s oil sands have the third largest oil reserves in the world (Venezuela has the largest, and Saudi Arabia has the second largest) and produces almost 70% of our country’s natural gas.

Fun Facts

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), oil and gas wells run between 300 metres and 3.2 kilometres deep.

The EPA also estimates that 1 horizontal well can use between 7.5 million and 19 million litres of water (that’s 3 to 7.5 Olympic-sized swimming pools). Anywhere from 15% to 80% of this water is recoverable.